


warmest regards

by maddielle



Series: that big picture 'verse [11]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Future, Baby Werewolves, Children, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Implied Sexual Content, Kid Fic, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Siblings, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23282884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddielle/pseuds/maddielle
Summary: “You’re really good with Jane,” Derek continued. “I love watching you with her.”Stiles lifted a shoulder bashfully. “I’ve always liked kids.”“Ever given more thought to having some?”Stiles and Derek think to the future.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale/Original Male Character(s), Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: that big picture 'verse [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614649
Comments: 6
Kudos: 233





	1. jane

**Author's Note:**

> final installment of this series (chronologically speaking)
> 
> some family and pack feelings

Cora came home for good about a week after Derek’s thirtieth birthday and the day before Allison and Isaac’s wedding.

Derek had refused any celebrations at the time, wanting to wait for his sister to arrive, though Stiles knew it was just an excuse, and that Derek was hoping everyone would forget about him in the excitement of her return and the wedding. As a result, Stiles had spent the entire final week of their solitude on the Hale property discretely leaving his partner his favourite foods and treating him in bed.

“I know what you’re doing,” Derek huffed, sweat droplets gathered on his sternum as he recovered from another of Stiles’ gifts.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stiles returned with an angelic smile. He lay across Derek’s chest and stroked his side.

“I told you I don’t need anything for my birthday.”

Stiles sat up and looked down at Derek’s flushed face. “You can’t prove that anything I do is birthday related.”

“Really. So all the meals and extra sex are business as usual,” Derek asked, suspicious.

“Yup,” Stiles said, popping the P. “I’m absolutely this attentive and loving all the time. Honestly, I can’t believe you missed it.” With a smirk, he leaned down and whispered, close to Derek’s ear, “I’ve also recently figured out that I have a huge thing for older men.”

Derek scoffed and heaved himself up, tackling Stiles onto his back and sitting atop his chest. He pinned Stiles’ arms with his knees. “I’m an old man, now? I’m fairly sure it was you begging me for mercy last night. For _hours.”_

“Interesting. I’m not sure I recall.” Stiles wiggled his hips underneath Derek’s substantial weight, biting his lip coyly. “Maybe you should remind me how that happened.”

Eyes glinting, Derek slowly bent to brush his mouth against Stiles’, teasing his lips, darting his tongue out. Stiles immediately give up any facade of cockiness as he whined and strained his head up, desperate for a real kiss, but Derek just chuckled and straightened, leaving Stiles wanting.

“No.”

“Ugh. Jerk.”

“We have to be at the airport in two hours,” Derek reminded him, lifting his leg over and standing by the bed. “Cora’s going to be ruthless because we stink like sex, and I wanna get the worst of it off.” He tugged on Stiles’ ankle. “Up. Shower.”

“We only stink to werewolves,” Stiles grumbled, sitting up and reluctantly pulling his sleep shirt over his head.

“Probably a bit to regular humans, too,” Derek called from the ensuite bathroom.

“Whatever, man. I like how we smell.”

He walked into the bathroom and was met with a delectably nude Derek reaching into the glass shower to turn on the hot water. When he was happy with the temperature, he held out an arm and tugged Stiles’ against his chest.

“I like how we smell too,” he murmured, mouthing at Stiles’ shoulder. “I just don’t want to share it with anyone else.”

“You’re a possessive dork, is what you are,” Stiles said. He knocked his forehead gently against Derek’s. “C’mon, I wanna get you off one more time.”

He got his wish while at the same time getting cleaned up by his thirty-year-old hunk of a boyfriend, so Stiles considered it a pretty good morning, overall.

As expected, Cora immediately scrunched her face into a disapproving look when she and her boyfriend, Ben, emerged from arrivals later that afternoon. She dropped her bags, three stuffed duffels definitely too heavy together for any average person to be carrying with such ease, and hugged her brother, sniffing suspiciously.

“Couldn’t have waited until tonight?” she asked, shooting a pointed look over at Stiles.

“Why are you looking at me?” Stiles exclaimed.

“Because you’re always the instigator.”

“If that’s what you think, then there is a lot you don’t know about your sibling,” he said, throwing his arms wide open. “C’mere!”

She rolled her eyes but accepted his hug with only a little grousing. Over her shoulder, Stiles watched Ben shake Derek’s hand, clearly no longer nervous standing before Cora’s scary big brother. Derek didn’t fit that role very well anymore, in any case. He’d definitely softened over the years.

When Cora stepped back to grab her stuff, Stiles raised a friendly hand to her beau, and the four of them made their way through the airport back to the car.

“Good flight?” Stiles asked Ben, falling into step with him as Cora pranced up to Derek and proceeded to chat at him.

“Not bad,” Ben replied, shaking sun-bleached hair from his eyes. “There’s always someone with a good case of BO, but apart from that? We mostly slept.”

“Yuck. Yeah, I don’t envy you guys that.”

“How about you guys? Beacon Hills still standing?”

“Still standing,” Stiles confirmed, hitching one of Cora’s bags higher on his shoulder. “We haven’t had trouble in a long while. The house is all ready for you guys, by the way. Cleaned and upgraded and everything.”

Ben shook his head. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, we know you’ve been on the road for a while. Anyway, it was mostly Derek,” Stiles clarified, smiling absently at the back of the aforementioned werewolf. “He’s been trying to downplay it, but he’s been excited for weeks.” When Derek turned his head to scowl, Stiles blew him a kiss.

“Cora’s been the same,” Ben said, lowering his voice. “She’d never admit it, though.”

Stiles sighed. “It’s you and me against a couple of Hales who can’t emote to save their lives. We should compare notes.”

Ben chuckled at that.

About a half hour into the drive, after Stiles and Cora had bickered over who deserved shotgun and Stiles had won when he’d threatened to spill lurid details about his sex life, Stiles got a text from Lydia.

_Lydia [2:15] - I need Cora’s number, please and thanks._

“Hey, Cora,” Stiles said.

“Yup?”

“Lydia wants your number.” He twisted in his seat and grinned at her. “You ready to serve under the wedding planner from hell?”

With a groan, Cora dropped her head against the passenger window. “God, not at all. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve worn a dress?”

“Months?” Stiles guessed.

“Years,” Ben offered. “I mean, I’ve never seen it.”

“Try decades,” Derek said, and Cora nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Stiles snorted and settled back in his seat, slouching. “Well, good luck to ya.”

For the most of the trip home, he was content to watch the scenery fly past his window as he kept a light hand on Derek’s forearm and listened to the siblings exchange teasing barbs. He was never unhappy in Beacon Hills, but, with the impending wedding bringing everybody together again for the first time in years, there was definitely a recently added element of warmth and safety to his life. Part of him wondered how much of the celebrations had been planned with the intent to gather the entire pack; he knew for sure that Allison and Isaac would’ve been satisfied with a quick and casual ceremony, but they hadn’t fought Lydia when she’d taken over the planning.

“You’re quiet,” Derek said to him, tapping the back of Stiles’ hand. Cora had nodded off against Ben’s shoulder in the backseat.

“Just thinking,” Stiles said, glancing over. “It's kinda exciting. First pack wedding.”

Derek nodded while keeping his eyes on the road ahead. “Yeah, it is.”

“Think we’ll have any others coming up?”

“Maybe.” Derek checked the back mirror quickly, eyes catching on his sister’s sleeping face. “We have a few contenders.”

Stiles lowered his voice. “You think…?”

“It’s possible,” Derek said, expression thoughtful.

“Man, you’ve changed,” Stiles teased. He jostled Derek’s shoulder playfully. “Whatever happened to our favourite growly, overprotective wolf prepared to scare away any potential suitors?”

Derek snorted. “Cora never needed me for that.”

“Damn straight,” she called from the backseat.

Stiles laughed and stretched out his legs, getting comfortable for the remainder of the drive.

As soon as they arrived back at the house, Derek went to help Cora and Ben settle into the guest house while Stiles was immediately whisked away into the main house by a beckoning Lydia. The kitchen was a flurry of activity and yummy smells as Allison worked on tossing several salads and Isaac stood at a counter, seasoning chicken in a deep dish to be baked.

“Damn, you guys,” Stiles said. “Preparing for a banquet?”

“Might as well be,” Allison replied, tossing a weary smile over her shoulder.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing,” Lydia cut in, breezing past him on her way to the fridge.

“I’m wounded.” Stiles pressed a hand to his heart. “I’m actually a great cook.”

“We just need you to watch Janey for a bit,” Isaac told him, nodding his head towards the highchair in which a wriggling Jane Lahey fussed and chewed on her fingers. Stiles immediately forgot any insinuations about his cooking skills as he sidled past Lydia to pick Jane up under her armpits and set her on his hip.

“Worry not, stressed parents,” he announced, backing out of the danger zone towards the living room. He would gladly entertain the youngest addition to the pack over being ordered around by Lydia any day.

Away from the hubbub in the kitchen, Stiles sat himself down on the couch and perched Jane on his thighs, facing him. Her dark eyes, so similar to Allison’s, widened as she chewed on her hand, accidentally chomping on some of her own hair at the same time.

“Oh, baby,” Stiles sighed, tugging the strands free. “What is going on, huh? Everyone’s stressed out, running around.”

Jane cooed and smiled, grabbing onto his top with spit-covered fingers.

“Yeah,” Stiles laughed. “Who cares, right? If my only job is to hang out with you, I am a happy camper.” He supported her around the ribs and rested her against his side so he could fish his phone out from his pocket. “I have some new wolf pictures. Wanna see?”

“Wuff!” It was the third word she’d mastered, right after _Dada_ and _No_.

“Yeah, me too.”

When Derek came in through the front door about twenty minutes later, he was greeted by Stiles and Jane cuddled in the middle of the sofa, Jane giggling as her temporary babysitter zoomed in to show a closeup of a wolfed-out Isaac on his phone screen. Stiles was preoccupied with narrating the image with growls and yips, barely noticing when Derek crossed in front of him and sat down.

“Wuff,” Jane said, reaching out to Derek. “Wuff.” Stiles watched as Derek let her capture his thumb in her hand and tug playfully.

“Big wuff,” Stiles agreed, winking at Derek. “How are they settling in?”

“Just fine. I left them to unpack and wind down. They’ve been travelling for a while.”

“For sure.” Stiles readjusted his grip on Jane, sitting her up a bit. “You think they’ll be happy here?”

Derek shrugged as he reached out and carefully pushed some errant curls away from Jane’s face. “She keeps assuring me that she feels ready to settle down. Only time will tell, I suppose.” He smiled as the toddler in Stiles' arms pretended to hide her face against her own arm. “I’m happy to have her around for as long as she wants.”

With a toothy yawn, Jane chose that moment to tuck her head under Stiles’ chin and close her eyes with a world-weary huff, clearly tired of adults for the day. Stiles peered down at her and instinctively protected the back of her head with one hand, the other holding on to her wrist. He marveled for a moment at how much she’d grown in the past year, thinking back wistfully on visiting Allison in the hospital and cradling an impossibly tiny bean of life in his two arms. She’d seemed so new and foreign to Stiles then. Now, she had a head of distinctive brown curls, a wicked bite, and an affinity for squealing in joy whenever one of the wolves shifted for her.

Stiles loved her to death.

When he realized he’d been distracted by the slumbering child for a while, he glanced up to make some comment to Derek only for the words to dissolve on his tongue. The other man’s expression was soft and open with gentle yearning, and he seemed lost in thought, unable to look away from Jane’s face where she rested in the curve of Stiles’ neck.

Stiles freed the hand nearest to Derek to brush the other’s furred cheek, and said, “Hey, sourwolf.”

Derek blinked and met Stiles’ inquisitive gaze. “Hm?”

“You alright?” Stiles asked with mild concern. “You looked miles away.”

Dipping his chin, Derek raised his hand to cup Stiles’ and squeezed. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“You were thinking about something.”

“Yeah,” Derek admitted. “Later, okay? After dinner.”

Stiles nodded and let Derek go when he stood and rounded the couch to the kitchen. Alone with Jane, he sighed and nudged her tangle of curls with his chin.

“What do you think he’s on about?” he murmured. His only reply was a soft snore. “Yeah, I’m not sure either.”

That night turned out to be one of Stiles’ favourite pack gatherings in a long time. As a pseudo wedding rehearsal dinner minus the actual rehearsal, their guests included all wolf and human members for the first time since high school, along with some honorary attendees including John, Melissa, and Chris. Derek and Stiles' dinner table couldn’t accommodate everybody, so they were all free to serve themselves and wander around while catching up and chatting.

Stiles retained custody of Jane for the evening, opting to whisk her around as she identified every werewolf by yelping _Wuff!_ and grabbing onto various individuals’ hair. He took particular delight in letting her turn Jackson’s carefully gelled hairdo into a spiked mess, knowing no one present could resist her dimples no matter what shenanigans she pulled.

Throughout, he kept a furtive eye on Derek, but nothing seemed off on the surface.

It eventually came time for Allison to call the evening to a close for the sake of getting Jane to bed at a reasonable time. With plans for the following day finalized and drilled in everyone’s minds by a firm Lydia, the group disbanded, and Stiles and Derek were able to spend a few quiet moments together putting leftovers away and tidying the kitchen. As he shifted around, Derek kept resting a hand on Stiles’ lower back or arm fondly, and Stiles responded each time by dropping a kiss to Derek’s cheek or shoulder, whatever he could reach with his hands deep in soapy dishwater.

“Come upstairs when you’re done,” Derek murmured. Stiles met him in a gentle kiss and nodded, watching as the werewolf left the room.

A little later, when he’d gone around the main floor turning off lights and locking the doors, Stiles padded upstairs and into their bedroom, stripping off his shirt as he went. Derek rested on the bed scrolling through his phone; he’d gotten as far as shucking off his pants, leaving him in boxer briefs and the cashmere sweater he’d worn for dinner.

“Isaac just texted me,” Derek said with an absent smile, as Stiles crossed to the dresser.

“What’s up in the household of Argent and Lahey?”

“Jane was upset you weren’t there to tuck her in.”

Stiles chuckled, haphazardly folding his top and putting it away. “I am gonna be her favourite cool uncle. I’ll give her all the necessary life skills.”

Derek glanced at him over his drawn up knee. “Like how to play videogames for twenty-four hours straight and not combust after chugging six cans of Red Bull?”

“Yeah. The important stuff.” Stiles snorted as he went to Derek’s side and perched on the edge of the bed. “You make me sound like I’m still a disgusting sixteen-year-old boy.”

“Well, at least you’re definitely not sixteen,” Derek countered, dropping a hand to grip Stiles’ knee.

Stiles fixed him with a look. “I can’t still be _that_ disgusting. You had your mouth on my butt this morning.”

“Fair enough,” Derek said, the corners of his eyes wrinkling.

Shaking his head, Stiles dropped his gaze and ran his thumb across Derek’s knuckles. He took a moment to appreciate the quiet of the house after the earlier events, the general excitement fizzing in the back of his mind about the next day’s celebrations, and said, “I don’t want to pry. Just, please tell me if something’s upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” Derek replied gently.

“You’re something.”

“I’m happy. Cora is home, you’re here, there’s a wedding tomorrow.” He quieted momentarily. “People are settling and moving ahead with their lives. It just has me thinking.”

Knowing better than to interrupt, Stiles waited.

“You’re really good with Jane,” Derek continued. “I love watching you with her.”

Stiles lifted a shoulder bashfully. “I’ve always liked kids.”

“Ever given more thought to having some?”

Between one breath and the next, Stiles stilled.

“Of course I have,” he said, tentative. “I was kind of waiting for you to bring it up.”

“How come?” Derek asked, frowning slightly. Stiles shrugged.

“I dunno. I thought you might think I wasn’t ready, or was too young, though I’m just realizing now that Allison had Jane when she was younger than I am now so that doesn’t seem logical anymore…”

Shaking his head, Derek sat up. “I don’t think that at all. I think you’d be wonderful.”

Stiles felt a grin growing on his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’d be more worried about me.”

“Now _you’re_ being silly. You’re a bona fide werewolf! It's probably hardwired into your DNA to be an overprotective den mother.”

“Den mother?”

“Totally.” After sharing an amused look with Derek, Stiles shook himself a little and scooted closer. “So. Are we- Is this real? Are you asking me if I want a kid with you?”

Derek glanced down, building courage, before looking up again with an unguarded expression. “Yeah, I am.”

Stiles’ cheeks ached from smiling so wildly. Suddenly, he felt his skin warm as his eyes prickled with threatening tears, causing Derek to take on a look of mild alarm. “No, no,” Stiles said thickly, waving a hand between them. “I just- I honestly can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”

“So you want to?” Derek asked, cautious hope naked on his face.

“Yes. Absolutely yes.” Stiles launched himself forwards, arms like a vice around Derek’s neck, and nuzzled into the warm skin of his throat. “Fuck yes, so much yes. Yes, yes, yes.”

With a relieved sigh, Derek hugged him back tightly, one hand firm on the back of Stiles’ head while the other clutched at his back. They rocked back and forth together until Derek pulled back to kiss Stiles square on the mouth. Hyped up on emotion, Stiles immediately melted into the gesture and groaned, pulling Derek’s bottom lip into his mouth to suckle on the tender skin.

Derek grunted in surprise and shifted to mouth at Stiles’ collarbone. “Someone’s excited.”

“Sorry.” Stiles gasped out a laugh. “I think picturing you as a dad really does it for me.”

“Yeah? You want me to get up at three in the morning to change diapers? Mix baby food in the blender? Carry our daughter in a chest harness?”

Stiles leaned back, holding Derek’s face in two hands. “You want a daughter?”

“Kind of,” Derek mumbled. “I’d be happy with either, but I grew up with sisters.”

“I’d love to have a daughter with you,” Stiles returned softly.

“I was kind of hoping we could talk to Deaton, too."

“Why Deaton?”

“In case he or his contacts know of any werecubs in need of a family.”

Stiles fell quiet, stroking along Derek’s cheekbones with his thumbs. “You’ve given this a lot of thought,” he stated finally.

Derek nodded. “We have a safe home and a strong pack. We can adopt, give a child a good start in life.”

“Yeah, we can,” Stiles said, delighted.

In the next moment as they regarded each other, Stiles found himself noticing again all the ways that Derek had changed since they’d become a couple when he was nineteen. He took note of laugh lines and soft wrinkles, the sprinkle of grey throughout a beard that Derek let grow longer and longer each year, and he couldn’t keep himself from leaning in to tenderly kiss the mouth of the man he’d loved for so long.

“Yeah, we can,” Stiles repeated into the private space between their lips.

He almost swore he could see Derek’s own eyes getting a little glassy at that.


	2. marina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mind some changes in POV throughout!

They went to see Deaton soon after the wedding, excited and desperate to get the ball rolling since they’d decided to go ahead with starting a family. Deaton had been pleasantly surprised, telling Stiles and Derek that, while it might be a while before he caught wind of a child suitable for adoption, the supernatural community did sometimes have need of willing families.

After discussing details for most of the afternoon, Derek had left the meeting feeling optimistic, squeezing Stiles’ hand across the gearshift for the entire drive home.

That had been over three months ago.

Life had been peaceful since the wedding in general. His sister and Ben had been spending a lot of time on hikes and camping trips, still adjusting to living in one spot for so long, and business continued to be steady for Stiles and Danny as a fairly established consulting team. There were no threats to deal with, no tangible reasons to be anxious, but Derek was beginning to feel on edge. He’d been so excited at the prospect of a child. With the reality that they might be waiting for a long time settling in, it was getting difficult to keep that initial enthusiasm from souring into frustration and hopelessness.

Stiles had definitely been edgier than usual lately.

“Fuck,” he said, scowling at his laptop at the kitchen island. Derek glanced up from potato he’d been peeling in preparation for a shepherd’s pie.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I lost my code,” Stiles growled, hitting a few keys furiously. “Didn’t fucking save.”

“Can you get it back?”

“No, Derek, I can’t.” Exasperated, Stiles dropped his head into his hands. He took a few measured breaths before sliding from the stool and grabbing his keys from the counter.

Derek’s hands froze, half the potato peeled. “Where are you going?”

“For a drive,” Stiles muttered as he stalked towards the front hall. “Back later.” With the slam of the door, he was gone.

Derek sighed slowly and resumed peeling, listening vaguely for the fading engine of the Jeep until the house and its surroundings were quiet as usual. He understood the need to escape, for sure. Two days ago, Allison and Isaac had announced their second pregnancy through a mass text. Derek remembered reading it and feeling hollow as he’d watched Stiles open the message himself, his face blank, eyes defeated.

Their friends weren’t at fault at all for being happy and open about the news. Apart from Deaton, Derek and Stiles had agreed to keep their plans under wraps for the time being until something was confirmed.

On the counter, Stiles’ cellphone buzzed. Derek patted his hands dry on a tea towel and answered the call.

“Derek here,” he said.

 _“Oh. Hi, Derek.”_ It was Stiles’ father. _“Where’s my son at?”_

“Gone out for a moment. He’ll be back later on.”

_“Right.”_

“Did you need something from him?”

John sighed. _“More or less. He borrowed my pressure gauge for the tires on the Jeep, and I kind of need it back before driving to work tomorrow.”_

“It’s in the garage,” Derek confirmed. He took stock of his progress with dinner, and said, “I’ll bring it over.”

_“You don’t have to do that.”_

After setting the colander of potatoes in the sink, Derek headed towards the front door to find his jacket. “It’s no problem, I’ll be five minutes. Stiles didn’t say when he’d be back exactly.”

_“Alright. Thanks.”_

After locating the gauge, Derek jotted a quick note for Stiles explaining where he’d gone and left the house himself. The drive to the Sheriff’s home was still as familiar as anything after all these years, and his heart ached a little as he travelled down familiar roads and thought back to their younger selves.

John met Derek at the door and waved him inside.

“Thanks, son,” the older man said, setting the tool down on the kitchen table. “He was supposed to give it back to me yesterday.”

“I think he’s been distracted,” Derek offered. “With work, and stuff.”

Leaning against the counter, John crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Derek with the concerned scrutiny characteristic of a parent.

“Are you two alright?” he asked after a long moment.

Derek nodded and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. “Yeah, we’re okay. We, uh… It’s fine. Mostly.”

With an understanding grunt, John crossed the kitchen to the fridge. He pulled out two beers and offered one to Derek.

“If you wanna talk about something, you can,” he said. “Otherwise, we can just watch the rest of the game I have on. You look like you could do with putting your feet up for five minutes.”

With a half smile, Derek accepted and followed John into the living room.

They didn’t talk for a while, just sipping at their drinks and following the football game on the screen. Derek tried to judge how angry Stiles would be if he confided in John, and he eventually figured that it couldn’t hurt to have someone else supporting them. As the only parent alive between the two of them, John was probably the only person appropriate to tell, and Derek suddenly felt a burning need to unload the stress.

“We decided to start a family,” he said, without any build up. “About three months ago.”

John pursed his lips and nodded. “I figured that would be happening at some point.”

“Really?”

“Wasn’t hard to guess.” After another swig of his beer, John glanced over at Derek. “So, what’s going on?”

Derek took a deep breath. “We want to adopt. Ideally, a werewolf child. They have a need for an understanding community to grow up in, given their circumstances.”

“Right,” John said, with a grimace. “Yeah, I can’t imagine a young werewolf trying to get by in an unsuspecting family.”

“Exactly. It’s just… a slower process than we banked on originally. I guess we should have expected that, but we got excited.”

In the wake of all the new information, John swished his bottle in small circles while considering the situation.

“Well, I am happy for you two. That you’ve decided to think about kids, I mean. All I can advise to be patient and kind with one another. It took Stiles’ mother and I a little longer than most couples to get pregnant, and it was frustrating at times, but things will work out how they’re supposed to.” He paused, rested a heavy hand on Derek’s shoulder, and drained his beer. “You just gotta hold on to that.”

Derek swallowed heavily.

“That helps, actually,” he said.

“S’what parents are for, kiddo,” John replied. “I’m here for both of you.”

Derek’s words stuck in his throat, so he just nodded and peeled his eyes to the TV. After finishing watching the game in easy silence, Derek rinsed out his bottle in the kitchen and pulled out his keys, accepting a gruff one-armed hug from John before getting back in his car and heading home.

He arrived back to a dark house, the kitchen already cleaned up from his earlier efforts. Upstairs, after shedding his shoes and coat, he found Stiles asleep in the centre of their bed, body curled around a pillow. He stirred slightly when Derek slid under the covers behind him and pressed close.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Sorry ‘bout earlier.”

Derek hushed him and kissed his ear. “Don’t worry.”

“Wasn’t fair.”

As Stiles threaded their fingers together, Derek basked in the familiar scent of them and their bed, and said, softly, “We’ll be alright.”

Stiles hummed in agreement as his body loosened further and he fell back to sleep. Derek did his best to let go of his own tension and do the same, letting out a silent yawn and finally closing his eyes.

Two weeks later, on one of the first warm days of the year, Stiles was in the backyard of his house, leading a shrieking Jane by the hands through a sprinkler as she wobbled on her two legs. She was enjoying attempting to hop across the streams of water, ping-ponging between her mother and favourite uncle. Both Allison and Stiles were steadily getting soaked.

“One more step! You can do it!” Stiles was saying, arms stretched out. With dramatic flair, Jane slid to her bum and laughed loudly.

Allison winced as she took in the state of her daughter. “Oh, honey. Right in the mud. No, no! Not on your face!”

Stiles cackled. “It’s art, Allison.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Allison said, smiling despite herself.

“It’s my job to encourage her.”

Behind Jane, Stiles attention was momentarily caught by Derek and Isaac back on the deck, working away at the barbeque together. As they chatted, something distracted Derek, who set down his tongs to take his phone from his back pocket and answer a call.

“You okay?” Allison asked, having crouched down behind Jane to help the child stand.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Stiles said, moving his attention back to his niece. “We better get this little stinker in the bathtub, eh?”

“No bath!” Jane cried. “No bath, no bath!”

“That’s not for you to decide, young miss,” Allison said, straightening up. “Come on, let’s go.”

As they meandered back to the house, Stiles jogged over to the tap connected to the end of the hose. He’d just switched off the running water when a shout caught his attention.

“Stiles!”

Heart lurching, Stiles jumped to his feet and ran around to the back deck. Derek still had his phone pressed to his ear, his eyes wide as his listened and beckoned Stiles closer.

“Yeah, of course,” he was saying. “I’ll call you back soon. Alright. Thank you.” He ended the call and immediately grabbed Stiles’ shoulders. “It was Deaton,” he said.

Stiles’ stomach flipped. “What did he want?”

“There’s a baby,” Derek told him, a beautiful smile taking over his features. “Stiles, there’s a baby. She’s in Oregon, and she needs a family.”

“What?” Stiles whispered. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, love,” Derek said, voice softening.

“Did you say ‘she’?”

With a laugh, Derek nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

“Holy shit,” Stiles said. Then, he yelled, “Holy _shit!_ We’re gonna have a daughter!” He cast his eyes around wildly, catching sight of Isaac and Allison standing nearby, both looking completely bemused. “We’re gonna have a daughter!” he repeated to them.

“I’m seriously happy for you, man,” Isaac said. “But can you please explain what is going on right now?”

Derek chuckled as turned and slid an arm around Stiles’ shoulders. “We’re adopting,” he explained. “We decided to look into it around the time of your wedding, but we didn’t want to make anything public until we knew for sure what was happening.”

“And, just now, with Deaton…?” Allison asked tentatively.

“I haven’t got all the details, but he’s been contacted by a small pack in Oregon.” Derek kissed Stiles’ forehead briefly. “And he said there’s a baby girl.”

“Oh my god!” Allison cried. Careful of Jane latched onto her leg, she pulled the two of them into an enthusiastic hug. “This is amazing news!”

Isaac slapped Derek’s shoulder and smiled widely. “Congrats, you guys, seriously.”

“Thanks, dude,” Stiles said happily.

“Wuffs!” Jane yelled from Allison’s feet, clearly just excited because all the adults were excited, which caused everyone present to dissolve into helpless laughter at her input.

“Her name is Marina,” Deaton said, turning his tablet around for Derek and Stiles to view. The three of them were seated in the clinic’s office, the day after Deaton’s initial call to Derek. An email attachment had been pulled up on the screen showing a picture of a tiny baby swaddled in a white blanket against the chest of an older, kind-faced woman. The little girl’s skin was pale and rosy, her scrunched-up face topped with wispy blonde hair.

Stiles suddenly had no air in his chest, so he was grateful when his partner stepped in.

“What happened to her parents?” Derek asked.

“No father in the picture,” Deaton sighed. “Unfortunately, her mother got caught in a territory dispute with an omega wolf only three weeks ago. The woman you see here is named Elsa, whose husband, Anton, is the current alpha of the Dobransky pack in Baker City, Oregon. Your mother knew them both extremely well, Derek.”

“I’ve met them before,” Derek said, nodding.

“They can’t keep her?” Stiles asked curiously.

“They don’t have the means,” Deaton replied, taking back the tablet. “Marina has no surviving relatives, and most members of their group already have young children or are elderly.”

“Okay. What’s the next step?” Derek asked, taking Stiles’ hand in his.

“I’ll give you Elsa’s contact information once you decide to go ahead with things, and I know that she has connections with some lawyers within the supernatural community.” He fixes the two of them with a serious look. “Clearly, this pack has been through a difficult time, so I would caution you to be certain of your choice before reaching out.”

“Absolutely,” Stiles said, catching Derek’s eye. “We’re ready.”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched up as he replied, “Yeah.”

With that, the decision was made.

The next week passed in a flurry of activity. Stiles met up with Scott as soon as he could to share the news with his best friend and alpha, who was, unsurprisingly, elated at the prospect of a new kid to spoil as well as a new pack member. Soon after, a full pack meeting was called, absent members video calling in to share in the occasion.

During this time, Derek was in email contact with Elsa Dobransky as they made arrangements for Derek and Stiles to make the drive north so she could meet them herself and decide on their suitability. Stiles was just beginning to stress about time being too short to prepare for the baby’s potential arrival when Melissa, blessed Melissa, offered to take a few days of vacation to help them get the essentials together.

Stiles almost cried when she showed up at the house, Scott’s old wicker bassinet in the back of her car.

“We’re all here for you, honey,” she said, hugging him and dropping a kiss into his hair.

Finally, after leaving a set of keys to the house with Scott so the pack could continue to get things ready, Derek and Stiles hit the road, Jane’s borrowed baby carrier strapped into the backseat of the Camaro.

“Oh my God,” Stiles said, as they crossed the county border, fidgeting with his jacket sleeves. “Okay. So, this is really happening. We’re going to meet a baby.”

“We are.”

“Am I ready? I don’t know if I am. Derek, what if I drop the baby? What if I accidentally teach her a swear word and then her school calls and I have to go in and-”

“Stiles,” Derek said firmly, grasping onto his wrist. “You won’t. You’ll be fine. And don’t forget, this is just the initial meeting, okay? They want to make sure we’re a match before we do anything else.”

Stiles let a breath out through his nose slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He glanced over at Derek. “Do you think we overprepared? In case they hate us, or something?”

Derek lifted a shoulder as he smoothly passed the car in front of them. “Even if this particular situation doesn’t pan out, we’ll have a use for everything one day.”

“True.” Grateful for Derek’s calm logic, Stiles rolled and shook out his neck. “Alright. Let’s get some tunes going.”

In answer, Derek offered him the aux cord.

Ten hours in the car flew by far to quickly, in Derek’s opinion. Having set off early in the morning, they rolled past the sign announcing ten miles to Baker City at around six in the evening. Stiles was currently driving, since they’d be switching every few hours or so.

“Pretty area,” he commented. Derek nodded in agreement, catching glimpses of snow-capped mountains not too far in the distance.

With the help of his phone’s GPS, Derek guided them off the highway and down a long, winding road that skimmed the town’s outer limits. The landscape boasted wild fields interspersed with stands of leafy trees and the odd barn or shed, and the same mountains Derek had noticed earlier now rose directly in front of them, creating an impressive scene.

“Slow down a bit,” he said, noticing that they were coming close to the next turn. He leaned forward and pointed at a break in the brush up ahead to the right. “Over there.”

Stiles followed his direction, pulling up to the dirt driveway and easing the car down it. Luckily, the road surface was well kept, and they only had to traverse it for a few minutes before a final turn around a dense thicket of bushes revealed a large ranch-style house, painted white with light blue accents around the windows and front door.

Parking next to an old truck, Stiles killed the engine and set the hand brake. He then locked eyes with Derek across the gearshift.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Uh,” Derek said, grabbing at Stiles’ hand for strength.

Stiles grinned back at him toothily and jerked his chin at the house where the front door had just been opened. “C’mon. Let’s do this.”

Dressed in a long skirt and a creamy knit sweater, Elsa Dobransky was a tall woman, almost as tall as Derek himself, and carried herself with the comfortable confidence of someone who’d been in a leadership role for a long time. She was definitely advanced in years, judging by her neat grey hair and slightly rounded back, but her eyes were bright and inquisitive as she took in her visitors.

“Derek Hale,” she said, voice low and lilting, when the two men approached the wrap-around veranda. “I wonder if you remember me at all.”

“Of course,” Derek replied, shaking her hand once and dipping his chin in a gesture of respect. “I must have been about twelve when our families met.”

“Yes, it was a long while ago.” Elsa gave him a onceover and smiled. “You’ve grown up very handsome. So like your parents.” She then turned her attentive gaze to Stiles.

“Stiles Stilinksi,” Stiles said, offering his hand earnestly.

“Of course. Lovely to meet you.” After greeting him, Elsa turned slightly and waved behind herself. “Please, come inside.”

In contrast to its quaint exterior, the inside of the house had clearly been remodelled and upgraded. A large living room to the left melded seamlessly into a modern kitchen space, and, on the right, the dining room boasted a table long enough to seat at least twelve people. Just inside the foyer, an oak staircase stretched to the second floor.

“We have a guest room prepared for you,” Elsa said, as she started up the stairs. “I’ll leave you to settle in this evening, but I’m guessing you’d like to see Marina first.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, voice soft as if already worried about disturbing the child.

Derek nodded to Elsa. “Yes, please. We’d love that.”

As they made their way upstairs quietly, Derek realized that he hadn’t sensed anyone else moving around in the house apart from their host. He mentioned his observation to Elsa, who inclined her head.

“Only Anton and I live here, and he is out running with our younger wolves today,” she told him. “We often have other members around, but the different scents have been confusing for the babe.”

After leading Stiles and Derek down a brightly lit hallway, she came to a stop outside of a closed door. Derek caught the end of a whining yawn from inside. “I believe she’s asleep already,” Elsa commented, slowly turning the handle and opening the door. “I’ll wait outside.”

The nursery was dim and warm, dark blue curtains drawn against the fading daylight outside. Derek let Stiles go ahead of him, pushing the door to before following him to the crib set up beside the double-bed in the centre of the room. It was clear that the Dobranskys hadn’t been prepared to care for a baby, simply using a guest room temporarily.

Stiles had two hands resting on the crib’s railing when Derek stepped in behind him, peering down at the scene below. Marina lay on her back, arms and legs splayed, mouth open as she breathed peacefully. She wore a footless onesie and the smallest hat Derek had ever seen on her head.

“God,” Stiles exhaled, leaning back into Derek’s chest somewhat. “She’s so tiny.”

Derek kissed Stiles’ shoulder and blinked. “Yeah.”

“What does she smell like?”

He took a moment to parse the unique blend of scents in the room before answering, unable to tear his eyes away from Marina’s fingers as they twitched in her sleep. “Fresh,” he murmured. “Healthy, and new. It’s hard to explain.”

“She’s gonna be ours,” Stiles said, turned his head, eyes glassy. “Right?”

“Yes.” Gently, Derek turned Stiles around in his arms and kissed his forehead. “Let’s go make it official.”

When Stiles pulled back, his gaze had hardened slightly with new determination.

Elsa beckoned them into her kitchen and offered tea and coffee when they returned to the ground floor. Once settled, she finally started to divulge more details about the circumstances surrounding Marina. Her mother, Julia, had been welcomed into the pack by Anton almost a year ago, initially having been on her own as an omega for a long while. She’d already been pregnant by the time she’d settled with the Dobranskys, but had never given details about any surviving family, and, when she’d given birth to Marina, she’d confessed to Elsa that the father had been killed by hunters. The same hunters who then came after Julia and her new pack a month ago, resulting in the devastating loss of Julia and Anton’s second-in-command.

“It hasn’t been an easy time,” Elsa said, eyes fixed sadly on her mug of tea. “Which is why I was so grateful to hear of Alan’s search for a child in need of adoption. Marina is a lovely baby and looking after her has been a joy, but it simply isn’t possible for us to raise her.” Her smile was strained at the edges. “Anton and I care financially for our pack, and many of our friends have young families as it is.”

“Of course,” Stiles said to Derek’s left, radiating genuine sympathy. “We’ve waited a while to start our own family, so taking her in is no hardship. Hopefully, over the next few days, you’ll agree, but…” He straightened and rested his hand on Derek’s knee. “Yeah. We’re definitely in.”

At that, some tension appeared to lift from Elsa’s shoulders, and her face softened.

While desperate to meet Marina properly, it was around ten when Elsa gathered their cups in the sink and showed them to the guest room across from the temporary nursery, so Stiles and Derek agreed to wait until morning for introductions. Careful not to be too noisy, they brought in their overnight bags from the car and began to settle down for the night.

“This place is cute as heck,” Stiles said, looking around the room and standing half-undressed with his hands on his hips. “Like a weird mix of modern vibes and country chic.”

“They’ve lived here a long time.” Derek was already reclined on the soft duvet, feeling the effects of the day’s trip in his bones.

“I like it,” Stiles mused. He rid himself of his pants and shirt before kneeling on the bed and grinning a little. “You know, you used to sleep, like, five hours a night. Look at you now. It’s barely ten-thirty.”

“I’m old, now,” Derek grumbled.

“You’re thirty.”

“Exactly.”

“You’re a drama queen,” Stiles said fondly, crawling up beside him and tucking his legs under the bed clothes. Mumbling a half-assed retort, Derek curled into him and rested his head on Stiles’ chest.

“I don’t want to be tired tomorrow,” he said into Stiles’ skin as he wrapped his arm around the other’s waist. “Big day.”

“Yeah.” Stiles trailed his fingers along Derek’s arm. “It will be.”

It wasn’t too long after that until they were both asleep, content in each other’s arms despite the unfamiliarity of their surroundings and circumstances.

Derek blinked his eyes open to a dark room and an empty bed. When he rolled over, his phone told him the time, just after four, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Stiles clearly wasn’t in the room, but Derek sensed his distinctive heartbeat not far away. Out of habit, he also listened out for Elsa, hearing her slow breaths as she slept across the house, and he picked up on small gurgle at the same time.

A baby’s gurgle.

Silently, he slid out of the bed and let himself into the hall. No lights were on, but the door to the nursery was ajar, quiet murmurs from inside reaching his sensitive ears. Brow furrowed, he approached and nudged the door open a little more.

Against the side of the empty bed in the weak glow of a nightlight, Stiles sat crossed-legged on the floor, facing the crib. His eyes were closed and his head bowed as he held Marina to his chest. Supported under her bum and around her ribs, her face was squished against his collarbone, eyes open to tiny slits as he whispered comforting nonsense close to her ear.

The floorboards creaked ever so slightly under Derek’s weight, and Stiles glanced up. He relaxed further when he saw who it was.

“I went to the bathroom,” he explained softly. “I heard her.”

Nodding, Derek walked cautiously closer and slid to the floor, leaning back against the crib so he could watch the tender scene before him.

“Did she cry?” he asked.

“No,” Stiles murmured, rubbing the baby’s back slowly. “She was just fussing. She’s alright now, though.”

For the next little while, they sat on the floor of the bedroom together, captivated by every tiny movement of Marina’s from the wiggle of her toes to the poke of her tongue between her gums. Stiles seemed at peace with the weight of a baby in his arms; Derek noticed how deep and even his breath was, the gentle scent of affection and happiness slipping off his skin and surrounding the trio.

“Hey,” Derek said long moment later, nudging Stiles’ knee with his toe.

“Hm?”

“I told you,” he said, letting himself smile.

Stiles looked bemused. “Told me what?”

“That you’d be fine. That you wouldn’t drop her.”

Goofily, they smiled at each other, and Derek felt such a deep wave of affection roll through him that he thought he might melt into the floor. After glancing again over Marina’s tiny form, he met Stiles’ steady gaze, and he knew then that he wasn’t alone in weathering the overwhelming emotions flooding his chest.

He already had a family in Stiles and Cora and John and everybody else back in California.

Now, there was just one member more.

“Stilinksi,” Derek said. “Marina Stilinski.”

Stiles’ answering grin could have lit up the whole room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's all folks

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like baby werewolves would be adorable nightmares


End file.
